Finally enjoying the fruits of my endless labouring…
I stupidly thought it was only going to take me 3 months to clear and terrace 2 allotments. I was wrong. It took 5! Though that did include building a rather large greenhouse and a lot of raised beds…
Here’s What I Started With
Taking on 2 plots at once probably wasn’t the most sensible thing I’ve ever done, especially as plot 2 has a major horsetail infestation, which is why the previous tenant gave it up. But the lure of a wonky shed & greenhouse right next to my existing plot was too much to resist!
I started by clearing the site with my trusty allotment assistant who does a great job on hole digging and sunbathing…
Then there’s the issue of the moles. Masses of moles. Having done the Viking Growing System online course in January, I decided to opt for building raised beds. Then I’d be able to put mesh in the bottom of them to prevent the moles from destroying the vegetable roots as they had in previous years with their endless tunnelling.
I do NOT recommend building unusual shaped raised beds, they are a complete pain, but I wanted to keep to the existing plot layout as it’s the best use of space.
I used scaffold boards, burnt them to seal the wood and help prevent rot and then slathered them in linseed oil to further help the wood against the wet. Time will tell if this will be successful or not! Then I built a fruit cage for my dwarf cherry trees, strawberries and brassicas.
I had to import a lot of soil & manure because I’d lined the bottom of the planters with the wire mesh. And boy, was that a lot of work!
Building so many structures and shifting so much soil meant I was very late with planting my veggies. It was mid-May before the first ones went in. Which meant I have the worlds tiniest onions but at least next year I’ll be able to do things on time!
Things have certainly grown well – mostly thanks to the Viking fertiliser recipes I learned in the course. All organic and you use a different blend depending on what’s planted. Unfortunately while I was away on holiday flea beetles have chomped on my brassicas but now I’m back I can deal with the little blighters!
My main watering lesson…
It’s certainly been a struggle getting enough water to the site with this hot summer but things have survived thanks to mulching with straw, weed suppressant membranes and having a drip irrigation system set up, which conserves water usage.
3 IBC tanks and 3 water butts was nowhere near enough – I plan to double it for next year!
No sooner than I’d finished allotment one – then work started on allotment two as you can see in the photo above, I decided to try metal planters for this one. They are deeper and should hopefully last longer than the scaffold board beds. I planted these with potatoes – it was end of June by the time they were finished so who knows if I’ll get a decent crop or not!
Then I got a bit carried away and decided to build my own greenhouse! My father gave me a load of corrugated plastic sheets so I made it the fit those! It has a mezzanine level for seed trays for the spring as it was a nightmare having everything in the house…
I then planted my remaining tomatoes, pepper, ginger, sweet potatoes, squash and even my lemon tree that hated living in a pot in my house!
I covered everything with a thick straw mulch and then went on holiday for two weeks in blistering hot weather, a hose pipe ban and prayed friends would do a good enough job with the hand watering while I was away! By this point the IBC tanks I’d purchased were already empty :o(
Thankfully, everything survived and thrived as much as possible with limited water!
It’s not been perfect, by any stretch as it took me so long to complete the building (I still have to put the roof and sides on my greenhouse!) but now most of the hard work is done, next year I can be on top of it all with the timings.
My allotment has had to survive a very wet spring (approx 300% more rainfall than average) – followed by one of the hottest, driest summers since 1976, with a hose pipe ban and my 2 week holiday right at the worst of the heat! So all things considered, it’s done pretty well… thanks *Nate – Garden Like a Viking your knowledge has been invaluable!
*In case you’re wondering, I’m not affiliated with Garden Like a Viking, so there’s no monetary incentive for me to write this!
I think I’ve given away as much as I’ve eaten! Though that was in part, my intention – I’ve purposely grown 25% more than I need to give to our local community kitchen.
No Allotment?
I know not everyone can access an allotment which is why I created the Food Garden Formula course which shows how to incorporate food growing into your garden in an attractive way…
I still haven’t got around to putting the price up, even though it’s on my todo list! https://www.successfulgardendesigner.com/food-garden
If you’d like to attend one of my FREE online garden design classes you can do so over at: https://www.successfulgardendesigner.com/free-classes
Here’s what’s in the class…
